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[MaxTheFox]

Trying to get a romance subplot started in writing is hard. Especially without making it sound like the characters are sock puppets.

I mean in my case, one of them is an alien with a culture with different attitudes towards love so that can help cover up the awkwardness but it's still clunky.

[Frumple]

I think the best advice I've ever seen on that front, is "When in doubt, don't. You don't actually need a romance subplot."

There's also just keeping it offscreen as much as possible. If you can't write it, don't write it, just make some kind of oblique mention or have characters stand closer to each other than they used to or something. Folks in a relationship can be pretty private, so lean on that and don't force yourself to write something awkward

[MaxTheFox]

I think the best advice I've ever seen on that front, is "When in doubt, don't. You don't actually need a romance subplot."

There's also just keeping it offscreen as much as possible. If you can't write it, don't write it, just make some kind of oblique mention or have characters stand closer to each other than they used to or something. Folks in a relationship can be pretty private, so lean on that and don't force yourself to write something awkward

Well part of why I'm doing it is to learn because I never really wrote one before, and I learn by practice.

[Schmaven]

Trying to get a romance subplot started in writing is hard. Especially without making it sound like the characters are sock puppets.

I am reminded of the song 'Subplots' by Jack Johnson

[dragdeler]

Boomer jokes about marriage are not an age thing, nor are they a relict of the past. The folks who were in their prime somewhere in the 80-90's have simply been stricken by the generation of most terminally menopausal, overboardingly entitled, women to ever flaunt their way past an education.


There will be a historical spike in unsufferability, only their direct daughters will ever be able to compete somewhere near that level: those who currently are 50-60 and those who are currently 30-40 are several levels more slappable than anybody older, younger or in between. It's basically lead + tv brain and their torchcarriers.



Next time I spot that signature facial expression I'm going to interrupt them mid sentence to tell them to ask somebody whom they would be capable of believing and stop wasting both our time.

[TD1]

I feel like dragdeler's content is disproportionately ageist...


Or maybe I'm mixing forum users up again.

[Egan_BW]

Don't forget the sexism. And general levels of hate and bitterness.

[Maximum Spin]

oh are we finally acknowledging this particular elephant

[Egan_BW]

I'd considered it before but it sounded like work.

[bloop_bleep]

I can't speak to any ageism or sexism because most of the time I have no idea. Just no clue.

It feels like that's largely intentional as dragdeler just wants to vent, which is where all the concentrated bitterness comes from. I wouldn't take it too seriously.

[King Zultan]

I don't see anything wrong with what dragdeler says.

[dragdeler]

It can be all kinds of generrally unpleasant to unpack and wrong, but it sits right there on the edge... As if I am merely a provocateur. I... just go on without me leave me here macho movie trope.

I'm a lost case, and a bad rolemodel, and a nutjob, and just because I have a tendency to land on my feet after these rhetorical tumbles doesn't mean I am particularly proud of this online presence I've created myself here.

What if we're all right with what has been stated and that is just generally annoying. God knows with all my human interractions IRL I tried to reserve my judgements until after they left, but yeah I think it actually will be more dignified for all parties involved if I refuse service on the basis of such superficialities as certain signature facial expressions that I associate to certain demographics being difficult (there is comparable telltale signs for other demographics too with whom I have had less problems statistically)

[Frumple]

Y'know, I don't know if it's a common bit of sound design I've just not been noticing (mostly because I tend to play with things muted, these days), but watching a speedrun of Spike McFang, one thing that's really stood out that I've definitely never paid attention to is that they, like... give the characters voices, in a game without voiced lines.

There's a sound effect for when text scrolls, basically, and the little type-y ding-y thing is different for different characters. It really stood out with a cat-themed boss character, that had a very distinct meow-y twang to its text-beeping, but every character since I noticed the effect has had a different one.

And, like. That's really slick sound design when you're working with a limited sound palette, in particular? That is a remarkable bit of detail, and I can't recall ever encountering it before, even back when I regularly played stuff like McFang (or JRPGs, or whatever involves text boxes like that). It's neat!

[Rolan7]

Huh!  I'm so used to that being a thing in Celeste that I sorta back-remembered it as a JRPG staple.  Almost positive it was in Undertale too.  But maybe it was really rare in classic console games?  I'm not sure!

[Frumple]

Oh... now that you mention it, I do remember Celeste having that? I think? I've watched folks play a few times (actually own the game through some bundle or another, but, uh, precision platformers and me do not get along even a little, nowadays in particular), but... I just don't pay much attention to sound design these days, even when I don't just have the whatever muted.

Back when I spent time playing literally every JRPG* on the SNES, though (back then, I didn't mute as consistently, heh), I don't remember it being much of a thing. It wouldn't be surprising if it was actually pretty common, like... after... the SNES era, just due to expanded capabilities, though? Or if it had been common and I just wasn't paying attention enough to notice, heh.

E: Yes, even the ones not in english. Very, very few to completion, but an hour or two to check things out? The entire SNES JRPG library, years ago. There was a few years in the late 90s, early 00s I had sunk an hour or two into every roguelike in existence at the time, too, heh, but there's a lot more of the things nowadays, and far more of them are paywalled.